Mouthpiece for wind musical instruments



C. 0. WIDMAYER.

qull/ W MOUTHPIECE FOR WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION FILED MAYIG. 1919.

Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

I NV EN TOR A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOUTHPIECE FOR WIND MUSICAL IN STRUMEN TS.

Specficaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1920;

Application filed May 16, 1919. Serial No. 2973662.

T 0 all whom ?It may cmwew: i

Becit known that I, CHARLES O. 'WID- MAYER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Mouthpiece for find Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mouth pieces for wind musical instruments or instruments of the trumpet type as cornets, French horns, trombones, tubas, etc., and has for its object a particularly simple, efficient and durable appliance therefor whereby the tones can be produced without the fatigue to the lips, etc., resulting from the ordinary way of playing these instrumente The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like characters designate correspouding parts in all the views.

Figures l and 2 are respectively, lengthwise vertical and horizontal sectional views of a mouth piece provided with one form of my invention.

F ig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Fig. l of another embodiment thereof.

Fig. l is a detail sectional View of another form thereof.

The mouth piece comprises, generally, a cup shaped body, or member, and a fiexible member extending lengthwise of the cavity of the body and Secured at its inner end to the inner end of the cavity of the body and extending beyond the entrance of the mouth piece, said member curving toward one side of the mouth piece, as the upper side. Tt may, however, curve in any other direction dependent on the position the mouth piece occupies relatively to the instrument. The term upper side herein and in the claims is used for convenience and brevity. The flexible member is also compressible endwise.

In Figs. l and 2, 1 designates the mouth piece which includes a cup shaped body or member 2 and a hollow stern leading from the apeX or bottom of the cup-shaped body.

3 is the fiexible member which comprses a leaf extending lengthwise of the cavity of the cup-shaped body or member 2 and out of the entrance of the 'mouth piece and curving upwary toward its cute-r end. It vd s the cavty of the mouth piece into upper and lower sections and is preferably located in the upper half of said cavity. Said leaf also, as seen in Fig. 2, conforms to the contour of the cavity but its side edges are spaced apart from the wall of the cavity, forming air passages around the leaf.

The mouth piece is also compressible endwise, it being here shown as formed with transverse folds or plaits, 4, near its inner end.` The fieXible member inaddition to the leaf includes a hollow plug or sleeve 5 at its inner end, from a portion of which the leaf projects, this plug being inserted in the passage 6 'of the stern and serving to support the leaf.

In the form shown in Figs. l and 2, the player usually places his upper lip against the upper side of the mouth piece and the end of the leaf between the upper lip and the teeth and for the upper tones presses the leaf upwardly and inwardly and for lower tones allows it to return to its normal position. To facilitate the return thereof to its normal position, a light spring 7 may be provided, this spring being Secured at 8 in the wall of the cavity and having its free end lightly engaging the upper face of the leaf.

In Fig. 3 the leaf 9 is shown as uuprovided with folds and as bow-shaped and secured at its outer end to the entrance piece 10 which slides axially of the cup-shaped body against the action of a spring 11. During endwise movement of the entrance piece eifected by the player pressing the instrument against the lips with varyng force, the leaf 9 is compressed or eXtended in accordance with the force applied to the instrument.

In Fig. 4; the flexible member is shown as provided with a mouth piece or grip '12 at its free end which is placed between the upper lip and the upper teeth. The vibrator or leaf may be formed of any suitable fiexible material or metal.

My fiexible member is readily applied to existing forms of mouth pieces and the instrument can be played and the various tones produced without the usual fatigue to the player.

'Vhat I claim is:

1. In a mouth piece for wind instruments, the combination of a cup-shaped member, and a flexible leaf Secured one end in the ci1p-shaped member and extendin ngth wise of. the mouth piece beyond the entrance thereof, the leaf dividing the cavity of the mouth piece into upper and lower sections, substantially as and for the purpose' descrbed. I i i 2. In a mouth piece for wind instruments, the combination of a cup-shaped member,

and a fieXible leaf secured'at one end in the j i i cup-shaped member and extending 'lengththe' free end of ,the leafbeing movable in r wise of the mouth piece beyond the entrance thereof, the leaf dividing the cavity 'of the mouth piece into 'upper' and lower sections,

wardly towardthe upper side of the entrance of the mouthpiece, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

3. In a mouthpiece for wind instrumente, the combination of a cup-shaped member, and a fieXible leafsecured at .one end in the cup-shaned member and extending lengthwise of themouth piece beyond theentrance thereof, the leaf being located in` the upper half of the cavity of the mouth piece and having its free end carried inwardly and normally spaced apart from the upper side of the entranceof themouth piece and imovand being compressible'endwisely into and out 'of the cup-shaped member and fiexible toward and from the upper'side ofthe entr'ance of the mouth piece, substantially 'as and for the purpose specified. i a i 6. In a mouth piece forwindinstruments, the combination of a cup-shaped member, and a fieXible' endwisely compressibleleaf Secured at its inner end in the cup shaped member and formed withtransverse folds or bellowsto make the same endwisely compressible', the leaf e'xtending lengthwise of the mouth piece beyond the entrance thereof and curving upwardly toward its free outer end, substantially' as and forthe purpose set forth. e 4 i 7. In a mouth piece for wind instrumente,

the combination ofa cup-shaped member having a. passage leading from its-inner end and a leaf having a tubular hollow plug inserted in said passage and located at a point remote from the entrance of the mouth piece," and a leaf extendng from the plug length- Wise of the mouth piece toward the entrance of the mouth piece, substantially as and for the purpose described.,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed myname at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, and State of New York, this th day of May, 1919. v

CHARLES o; WIDMAYER. 

